An East Bay family said the decision not to take their relative to a nearby hospital this week was a fatal one. They said Doctors Medical Center had the equipment to save him from cardiac arrest, but the cash-strapped hospital recently stopped accepting ambulance patients.

The struggling Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo is losing its life blood. Workers are jumping ship, even as the hospital is on life support. The hospital is slated close in October but it may have to shut down sooner.

San Pablo voters in Tuesday’s election have approved a measure to raise the city’s sales tax by a quarter of a cent to fund an emergency medical squad meant to pay for more emergency medical responders if the city’s only fire station closes.